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About Diamonds

Learn the 4 C'S about Diamonds -
Cut, Color, Clarity & Carat Weight

About Diamond
Cut

Cut or make
refers to the shape of a diamond and its mathematical proportions. Diamonds are
cut into numerous shapes, depending upon the nature of the rough
stone.

The next aspect of cut is the quality
of the proportions. Cut, more than any other quality aspect, gives the diamond
its sparkle. A diamond gets its brilliance and scintillation by cutting and
polishing the diamond facets to allow the maximum amount of light that enters
through its top to be reflected and dispersed back. When all the angles are
correct, the light that enters is dispersed back through the diamonds top bezel
facets. When a stone is cut too shallow or too deep, light that enters through
the top is allowed to escape through the bottom pavilion facets and does not
allow the maximum beauty of the diamond to be realized.

A diamond
cutter spends years mastering his craft, learning how best to cut a rough
diamond to achieve the ultimate cut with the fewest imperfections and the least
loss of carat weight. The better the cut, the more valuable the
diamond.

Ideal CutMathematician Marcel Tolkowsky was the
first to discover the exact angles to which a diamond must be cut in order to
produce maximum brilliance. In an Ideal Cut, all of the light that enters the
stone refracts internally from 57 to 58 precisely placed facets and disperses
through the top of the diamond, producing fire and brilliance. Only a round
brilliant cut diamond can achieve the proven mathematical proportions and
symmetry of an Ideal Cut.

Very Good CutA Very Good Cut is close
to an Ideal Cut, with only slight variations in its measurements. It may achieve
Ideal Cut proportions but vary in its polish or symmetry rating. Hence, a Very
Good Cut diamond still creates remarkable brilliance and luster, often
reflecting back the maximum amount of light if its table and depth percentages
match those of an Ideal Cut.

Good CutA Good Cut diamond is well
proportioned and reflects back a good amount of light.

Inferior CutMany diamonds are
"spreadâ€ in their cut to increase carat weight when cutting from the original
rough. Although you may end up with a diamond that appears larger, your
sacrifice will be brilliance and fire.

Too DeepWhen cut too deep, a diamond
loses light out of the bottom, leaving the center of the diamond dark in
appearance.

Too ShallowWhen cut too shallow, a
diamond loses light out of the bottom, reducing brilliance and giving the stone
a dark, glassy appearance.

A diamond's cut is graded by several
measurements. Its depth percentage, a measurement of the height vs. the width of
the stone and its table percentage, a measurement of the diameter of the top
facet of the stone vs. the stone's average width, are two key factors in
determining the quality of a diamondâ€™s cut.

Diamond
Color

Diamond color
grades start at D and continue through the alphabet. Truly colorless stones,
graded D, are extremely rare and very valuable. The closer a diamond is to being
colorless, the rarer and more valuable it is. Diamonds were formed under intense
heat and pressure, and traces of other elements incorporated into their atomic
structure account for the variances in color. A single change in color grade can
significantly affect a diamond's value. It is the lack of color, or whiteness in
a diamond that allows the light to pass effortlessly through the stone and
disperse that beauty back to the observer.

While many diamonds appear colorless,
or white, they may actually have subtle yellow or brown tones that can be
detected when comparing diamonds side by side.

Diamond
Clarity

Clarity refers to how many flaws, or
inclusions, are in the diamond. In most cases, clarity has very little to do
with the beauty of the diamonds; rather, it affects how the diamond looks under
the microscope. To determine a diamond's clarity grade, it must be examined
under 10x magnification. Whatever minute inclusions there may be make every
diamond unique. These are nature's fingerprints and in most cases do not mar the
diamond's beauty nor endanger its durability. Without high magnification, these
flaws are invisible. However, the fewer inclusions, the rarer your diamond will
be. Generally, if a diamond is SI-2 or above, it is flawless to the naked eye.
If there is even a tiny inclusion visible to the unaided eye, the stone is
usually graded an I-1.

FL &
IFDiamonds that reveal no flaws on the surface or internally.
These are the rarest and most beautiful gems treasured for their absolute
purity.

VVS1 or VVS2Diamonds with
minute inclusions absolutely invisible to the naked eye. Only through careful
inspection with a microscope can these tiny inclusions be accurately pinpointed.
The brilliance of the stone does not suffer in this category.

VS1 or VS2Diamonds with tiny
inclusions difficult to locate. Only a trained eye looking through a 10X loupe
can pinpoint the inclusions in this category. The inclusions are nearly
impossible to see with the naked eye.

SI1 - SI3Diamonds with
inclusions easily identified through a loupe. Finding flaws in this category
with the naked eye is difficult. The gems in this category maintain their
integrity, depending on the location of the inclusions. They are an attractive
choice when working within a fixed budget without sacrificing beauty or
value.

I1 - I3Diamonds with
inclusions that may or may not be easily seen by the naked eye. The flaws on the
stones in this category will have some effect on the brilliance of your
diamond.

Carat
Weight

Diamonds are
measured in carats, a small unit of measurement equal to 200 milligrams. A gem
stone's carat weight should not be confused with the "karat" weight of gold,
which is actually a measurement of purity rather than weight. Each carat is
divided into 100 points. Therefore, a half-carat stone may be referred to as a
"50-pointer," a quarter carat, "25-points," etc. Carat is the easiest of the 4
C's to determine because of the use of sophisticated measuring equipment.
However, two diamonds of equal carat weight might vary greatly in value
depending upon their cut, color and clarity. This is important because when
mounted, one diamond may appear larger than another, although they actually
weigh the same.

Because larger diamonds are rare,
they have a greater value per carat then smaller stone of the same quality. For
example, a 1.00 carat diamond may cost you $300.00 were as 2 diamonds weighing
0.50 carat each for a combined weight of 1.00 would cost maybe 1/3 or about
$100.00 for the same quality but smaller in size.